Hughes Accepts Job in Delaware

alexandrianews.org staff report

According to a March 8 press release on the University of Delaware’s website, Alexandria City Councilwoman Alicia Hughes has a new job.  She is now the associate director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute in Newark.

According to the press release, as associate director, Hughes will have responsibility in the areas of grants strategy, leadership and professional development, program development, education outreach, marketing and communications, and community relations.

"I am delighted that Alicia Hughes has joined the DBI leadership team under Kelvin Lee. Alicia's considerable prior experience will clearly be an asset to DBI as she assumes her new responsibilities at one of UD's premier research institutes," said Mark Barteau, senior vice provost for research and strategic initiatives.

“We are very excited to have Alicia as a part of our team,” said Lee, DBI director and Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering at UD. “She has a wonderful background that includes life science, technology transfer, and public engagement. We had input from a broad set of key stakeholders and there was significant enthusiasm for bringing Alicia onto our leadership team.”

Bob Dayton, president of the Delaware BioScience Association, which has a longstanding relationship with DBI, said he is pleased with the selection of Hughes as associate director. "As we continue to provide a unified voice for the local and regional bioscience community and continue to work with DBI to expand access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through greater public outreach, we are fortunate to have Alicia on board as DBI's associate director,” he said.

Hughes said she is “thrilled to be on board at DBI, an academic-public-private partnership done right,” adding, “However, I realize that as time and circumstances have changed, so too must DBI change to remain critical to the success of life science enterprise in Delaware. I look forward to merging all facets of my civic and academic backgrounds to further the Institute's vision of creating a better future through leadership in life science research in a manner that sustains our relevance.”

For the past four and a half years, Hughes has been employed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria.  She was elected to the City Council in 2009, at which time she faced voter challenges concerning her Alexandria residency.  She did not attend last night’s council legislative meeting and her status as an Alexandria elected official is unknown.